Do you ever wonder about the doughnut hole?

I mean, wouldn't the doughnut be better if they didn't keep part of the middle before selling it to us?

Someone pointed out Sunday that we should spend more time enjoying the part we have, instead of worrying so much about what we're missing.

(Especially when it's a hot off the line Krispy Kreme... mmm.... oh, wait, this isn't really about doughnuts after all.)

Not bad advice for Thanksgiving and all year.

I saw another great idea for being thankful year round you might like to try, as well.
Cut up slips of paper, or find a small notepad, to set by a mason jar.

Throughout the year, jot down little things that make you thankful and drop them in the jar.
Big items and small, drop them all in. Feel free to replace the jar with a larger one if needed mid-year.

Make it your Thanksgiving or New Year's Eve tradition to read the slips and remember what a great year it's been for your household.

I'm thinking we might need to install one of these at work to read on rough days!
But seriously, we do have so much to be thankful for this year in 4-H.

The Lighting of the Square is one of my favorite events of the year.

The looks on kids' faces (and parents') as you try to convince them that Santa always delivers gifts with rein-lambs in Covington is probably the best part.
Either that, or watching our younger 4-H'ers as Santa and Mrs. Claus join us for the walk to the Square.

We're thankful for the chance to make magic happen in the eyes of a child.

Earlier this fall Maggie Camfield of Ms. Bruno's 4-H club at the Newton County Theme School asked 4-H Program Assistant Kim Lawrence if her club could raise money for 4-H at their fall festival.

Yes, fifth graders asked permission to raise funds for 4-H!

Of course she said yes, and the 4-H'ers set to work.

They decorated a booth at the fall festival with 4-H clovers and everything to paint fingernails and sell cookies.

The 4-H'ers also set up a collection spot for aluminum pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and offered 4-H prizes for donating pop tabs.

At the end of the day, they not only collected pop tabs for a good cause, but they also raised $75 for 4-H!

That's enough to sponsor 5 Cloverleaf 4-H'ers to attend District Project Achievement this spring!

We're thankful for dedicated and creative 4-H'ers like Maggie Camfield, Nadira Thornton, Liane Bouchillon, Victoria Bouchillon, Sarah Harris, Ryleigh Hutchinson, Pamie Xiong, and Jada Washington.

Fourteen teenagers turned in portfolio rough drafts this week so they could attend the 4-H reward trip to the Mall of Georgia.

I'm thankful for the hard work each of these teens puts in year round in project areas, leadership, and community service.

During Thanksgiving Break this week, 4-H'ers have been in the office each day to work on our book collection.

They are cleaning, sorting, and labeling books for The Learning Center, and bundling up 4-H materials to hand out to older youth at the parade.

It looks a little bit like a library exploded in the office, but by December 1 it will be a well-organized literacy operation.

Again and again, we came across favorite books and someone would say "I just can't believe someone gave this away!"

I'm thankful so many people are willing to share their books with our community for a good cause, and I'm extra thankful for so many teenagers willing to get up early on their break to work on the project.

Well, looks like our thankful jar is off to a good start for next year.

Happy thanksgiving, and thanks to each of you for your support of local youth and 4-H programs.

Terri Kimble is the Newton County 4-H Agent through UGA Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at (770) 784-2010. or tkimble@uga.edu.